Real Diabetes. Real Life. Real…Baby? Maybe.

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I’m sorry friends, but I’ve majorly dropped the ball on blogging. I apologize!! I honestly can say I have no idea when I will become a regular blogger again, life just seems crazy right now and I imagine it will get even crazier in a few weeks when this small person arrives.

So, an update. I’m currently 34 weeks pregnant and everything is going pretty well. I’ve had a few bumps along the road. The first was when my AFP level measured a bit high, which can be an indicator for neural tube defects. PWD are slightly more susceptible to having babies with NTD, but after a “perfect” ultrasound, my husband and I decided not to undergo further testing. I was re-assured that some folks just have higher AFP levels and mine was not alarmingly high.

Things had been going along well, blood sugars have been great (my A1cs have been between 5.7 and 6.4, with my most recent at 6.0). I went in a few weeks ago for a followup growth ultrasound to find that my little pumpkin is not so little and is measuring 3 weeks ahead. At that point doc wanted to wait and see how things were looking at my next ultrasound. So I waited.

At the followup to the followup, the baby was still measuring large – 6.5 pounds according to the ultrasound tech, when a “normal” weight is around 4-4.5 pounds. Yikes. They are a bit confused because my blood sugars have been so good and my fluid level is perfect. But, some babies are just big. And according to my doc, regardless of blood sugar control, sometimes T1Ds just have bigger babies. This has led to a discussion of when I will deliver and I have been told that it is looking more likely that I will be induced “During week 37”, assuming the growth trend continues. Ummmm, that’s the week of 10/20. That’s, like, tomorrow.

Also at this ultrasound, it’s been discovered that the baby has a mild elevated fluid level on one of the brain ventricles. The doctors don’t seem too concerned so I am trying not to worry about it (and trying not to google!) From what I’ve read, the level the baby is presenting is usually “nothing”, however if it is something, it could lead to developmental delays and things of that nature. I have another ultrasound a week from friday, so we will see what’s what then. We will also determine if we are looking at an induction or C-section due to the baby’s size.

I have learned, especially in the past few weeks, that I am not one of those women who loves being pregnant. Everything hurts and I swear, every pregnancy ailment one could have, I have. Carpal tunnel – got it. My fingers are tingly as I write this. Plantar fascitis – yup, heels feel like they are on fire. And of course, throw on the back aches, foot/ankle swelling, fatigue, constant trips to the bathroom, and the added bonus of managing diabetes…I’m pretty crabby. I really wish I could just sit home and gestate for the next few weeks until this small person makes their debut, but alas, work has to be done. But, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and know that when I’m holding my little (big) pumpkin, it will all be worth it.

Literally, the first trimester was like a hangover that wouldn’t end. Without the funny stories or pictures from the night before. What a buzzkill. I, unfortunately, suffered from morning sickness something fierce. I naively expected it to be along the lines of feeling sick, puking, and feeling better. Not so much. I’d feel sick, puke, and continue to feel sick. Luckily, I was able to get a prescription for zofran, which helped, but didn’t eliminate, the symptoms. At one point, I blew a blood vessel in my eye and my eyeball filled up with blood. Stayed like that for 2 weeks. I looked preeeeeetttttttttty. (Pictures available upon request).

My blood sugars did well during the first trimester. I didn’t really experience the constant lows that some pregnant Ds talk about. I did experience MORE lows, but I would treat and most of the time they would play nicely and come up. I’d have a random stubborn low, but that’s par for the course with diabetes, right? My A1c hung out between 5.7 (!!!) and 6.3. My endo wants me below 6.5, so she’s happy with that!

One thing that did kick in for me – hypo unawareness. Many times my CGM would bark at me and I’d be like, “LIAR! I don’t feel low!” only to test and yeah, be in the 50s. Thank goodness for that little gadget. It woke me up quite a few times overnight with it’s beeping so I could treat a low.

On the topic of morning sickness and lows…probably the most frustrating for me with this whole pregnancy thing (thus far) is feeling nauseated AFTER bolusing for meals. To combat this, I’d try to eat as much as I could and either rock a temp basal of 0 for quite some time or, if my tummy allowed, down a glass of milk.

In the grand scheme of things, the first trimester went pretty smoothly. Along with the common pregnancy symptoms (I could’ve napped every.single.day!), diabetes definitely had a role, but I followed the mantra of “Correct and overcome.” I’m not shy about tweaking pump settings or trying new things. Being pregnant with diabetes is definitely not a walk in the park but with a good attitude, careful monitoring, and persistence, it’s definitely manageable.

Since I’ve been mute for the past 4+ months (sorry!), I wanted to share with you all how things have gone the first 19 weeks of my pregnancy! Let’s start with how I told the husband since that’s fun and we don’t need to talk about puke and constipation today, now do we? We’ll save that fun for another day.

I found out on a Sunday, which happened to also be my nephew’s first birthday. I woke up around 6 am that morning and knowing we had really good timing that month, I was anxious to take a test. Voila! Positive! The husband was still sleeping so I went downstairs and watched The Bachelor (Juan Pablo says, “Oh a baby?! Eeesss OK”).

I wanted to tell the husband in a creative way so I decided to make him a “ticket” to “Opening Day of Parenthood”. One of our first dates was to opening day of the Phillies so I thought it’d be cute. I found a template online and went to work. That’s about as creative as I get.

I was getting excited so around 8 am I went upstairs and woke his ass up. I handed him the envelope and he said, “Ohhh, did you get a positive?” I told him to just open it and when he did he laughed and said, “How ’bout that?!” He always says dorky things at big moments…when we had our first look on our wedding day his reaction was “I like your outfit.” He’s going to rule at Dad Jokes. 🙂

So that’s the fun stuff. I’ll post in the next week or so about the diabetes related stuff and first trimester.

Wellll….if you chose “Busy Conceiving”, you are correct! I am happy to announce that Baby G will be making his or her debut on November 11. It’s been a fun ride for the past 17 weeks and I’ll tell you more about that later. But for now…

I am excited to be back and active in the DOC and am looking forward to catching up!

Hello, DOC! I’ve missed you! I know it’s been a while since you’ve heard from me. My excuses/reasons for not blogging are kind of lame – busy at work, need a break from focusing on the D, busy getting busy, holidays, etc., etc. I miss blogging, I just haven’t had the motivation to make it a priority right now. But, I have some down time at work and thought I’d post an update on life.

Update #1. Not pregnant. Still trying to get a baby up in there, but no luck so far. Not sweating it, yet, but I gotta say, it can be frustrating to do everything “right” and not get the results you want. Kind of like how our blood sugars can behave one way one day and another way the next, despite doing the same thing. I keep reminding myself that even with “perfectly timed” sex a healthy couple has a 20% chance of conceiving any given month. Hopefully it’ll happen soon!

Update #2. Holidays were not as hard with new robot parts. Last Christmas I was still on MDIs, CGM-less, and felt like crap. Between traveling 7+ hours to get to our hometown, eating dinner around 10pm on Christmas eve, and not having handy gadgets, I was nauseous most of the holiday last year. This year was much better with my CGM and pump. It was easier to make adjustments and I’m happy to say that I felt good and enjoyed myself!

Update #3. Endo-conundrum. I received a letter a few months ago that my beloved endo is reducing her hours and therefore will only be in the clinic on Thursdays. Commence Panic. How is this going to work? Especially when I’m pregnant and have many more appointments? After chatting with a few other patients of her’s I decided to see how it goes at my next appointment with the nurse practitioner before deciding if I wanted to change practices or stick with my current doc, despite her limited availability. I had heard that the NP isn’t the greatest and rubs many people the wrong way, but I liked her. So, for now, I’ve decided to stay with my current practice. Hopefully when I do get pregnant, I will still receive excellent care. If not, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Update #4. A1c!!! My A1c has dropped from 6.8 to 6.7. Woohoo! I’m happy I stayed under 7.0. My next goal is 6.5!

Update #5. I have an annoying as eff coworker. My cubicle neighbor has serious issues with his bodily functions. He’s constantly snorting, snarfling, neighing like a horse, talking to himself, etc. He drives me slightly insane. There is going to be a day when I have the perfect storm of low blood sugar, PMS, and am having a shitty day where I go apeshit on him. Thank goodness for headphones, but damn, he bugs. Other than him, I love my job (Except for the whole keeping me away from the DOC thing).

So. I guess I can go ahead and say that the husband and I are officially “trying” for a baby. Being that I’m neurotic and can’t just see what happens, I’ve jumped into the deep end of the pool in this whole “making a baby” thing. Dr. Google is my new best friend.

Stuff I’ve learned:

A “healthy” couple under the age of 35 usually gets pregnant within 5 months, but it can take up to a year. So after a year, one should have a chit-chat with her doctor. Am I considered healthy with this D thing? When do I go crying to my lady doctor?

On any given cycle, there is a 20% chance of getting pregnant. I graduated with my M.A. summa cum laude. I can’t deal with this 20% success rate. Overachiever.

Apparently having sex a lot ups your chances. Duh. But some women on a baby board that I may or may not post on are getting it on like 2 or 3 times/day. Ummmm, I’m walking funny just thinking about it.

I get to track even more numbers! I’ve started taking my basal temperature every morning so I can see some patterns with my cycle, figure out when I ovulate, all that fun stuff. More stuff to keep track of. Thank goodness for iPhone apps.

I can’t find any scientific information on the interwebs about blood sugars and ovulation, implantation, etc. This annoys me to no end.

When you start trying, pregnant women are like squirrels. They are everywhere.

The husband is a good sport with my neurotic self. He’s learned some stuff too about the female body – interesting stuff and some gross stuff too. But he’s super excited and I know he’ll be a great dad.

4. In the middle of the night. I hate getting out of my comfy snuggly bed to treat a low. And the 15-15-15 rule goes out the window at 3am, leading to early morning highs and a day of feeling like doodie.

3. After eating a big meal. You’re already full and you have to eat/drink more? *unbuttons pants*

2. During/Before/After exercise. It drives me bonkers when I’m all geared up to work out or riding the high of endorphins after a good sweat session and I have to reverse all my hard work to treat a low.